I often say it, but it’s always true: Worcester is like the Matrix. There are about 1,000 real people in this city and everyone else is a scowling, perpetually grumpy, be-sunglassed dude in a suit continually gumming up the works to perpetuate their own negative view of the city.

This is how we have letter to the editor that says the following:

It’s June and it’s getting hot and still neither of the two pools that are safe enough to use is open. The pool at Crompton Park is locked down, barren and full of leaves. The Webster Square pool is empty save a little dirty rain water collecting.

At this point, I’m not sure whether it’s the city not doing enough publicity about (a) which pools they maintain and which the state maintains, (b) when the Crompton Park pool and Greenwood spray park are opening (July 1), or (c) details about what the Wheels to Water program does…or whether folks are just willfully not paying any sort of attention to anything that happens in this city.

The Webster Square/Bennett Field/Veterans Memorial pool is owned & operated by the state, and it was open this weekend. (The tip that it was going to open this weekend was that the purple mushroom/psychedelic shower in the pool was operating earlier in the week. One has to take the oracles one is handed.)

In fact, the letter-writer said the following:

That means no kids have been able to jump into a pool since the summer of 2007.

While this may be true of city-owned pools, this is not true of state-owned pools. The Webster Square/etc. pool was open last summer. It’s unclear whether the letter-writer is even aware that the Shine Pool exists.

While I agree with some of the other points of the letter-writer (that is, that the city has not been clearly communicating about the schedule for the other pools, that private entities have been picking up the slack left by the city government, etc.), this letter absolutely crosses the line dividing opinion from mis-information.

Of course people have the right to send letters to the editor. This gentleman has a right to his option.

But we seem to have an epidemic of folks — including this letter-writer — who are living in some time vortex from three years ago. How many phone calls will various elected officials get about pools that are already open or which will be open in a few days’ time? How many people will get riled up about a program that is providing a bit of a summer camp experience for kids who might not otherwise afford it?

The Telegram continues to publish letters that have little basis in fact. I’m not talking about letters that could make sense (or not) depending on one’s point of view; I’m talking about letters that are written by people with more of a passion for making complaints than looking at the calendar on their fridge to see what year it is.

There are pools. There should be more pools. The city should do a better job of communicating with residents. None of that is in question.

There are enough outlets for perpetuating myths, hallucinations, and outright lies in this city without the Telegram Letters page. At the very least, there should have been an editor’s note to correct the obvious mistakes.